Electrically heated floor mat



March 6, 1951 c, A, VOGEL 2,544,547

ELECTRICALLY HEATED FLOOR MAT Filed March 2l, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet l e @ff 5 6 Q, /f

CM1. Vajez INVENTOR 1 l BY l v l I' ATTORNEYS n March 6, 1951 C, A, VQGEL 2,544,547

ELECTRICALLY HEATED FLOOR MAT ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 6, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT 2,544,547 O F F I C E This invention relates to an electrically heated floor mat. v

An important object of the invention is to pro- `vide a novel construction of a floor mat on which.

one can stand for the purpose of assuring corn- .fort and protection despite the presence of cold,

drafty or damp floors.

Another important obi-ect is to provide a mat o f the. character described which will provide even and uniform heat over its entire surface, can be made oi low cost materials, and will be 'of high durability and practically indestructible. i

Another important` object is to provide a conu struction for a door mat of the character described which can be adapted toward the manufacture of floor mats of any desired shape or size.

Still another object is to provide a construction, in a door mat of the character stated, which .will permit the elimination of unnecessary de vices, such as thermostats, and the like.

Still another important object is toprovide a v'floor mat construction as stated which will have 'a low current consumption, and which will be vfully adapted to use not only in Various types of businesses, but also in the home.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds,

1 claim. (o1. 21g- 19) the invention consists of certain novel details .-1

of construction and combinations of parts, heren inafter more fully described and pointcd out in the claim, it being understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the t 4invention as claimed.

Referring to the drawings Fig. l is a top plan view of a floor mat constructed in accordance with the invention, with the top plate removed.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a wiring diagram.

Fig. 5 is a tcp plan View, with the top plate.

bottom plate of any suitable material, such astempered hard-board or the like, said bottom plate 5 preferably being quitethin but having the characteristic of rigidity. Marginally spaced around'the periphery oi bottom plate 5 are apertures 6 for a purpose to be described.- At this point, it may be noted that the bottom plate 5 can be of any desired outer configuration, the substantially rectangular shape illustrated lpurely being one example of a possible shape for the floor mat It could as well be round, or of any other suitable shape.

section on line l-e-T off;

YExtending longitudinally of the side edges of the bottom plate 5 are the elongated side strips by a grid 9 of any suitable material, the side edges of said grid abutting against the inner side edges of the side strips 1, so that said grid '9 will have a snug, tight t between the side strips. Thus, the inner surfaces of the side strips 'I will, after the grid 9 is fitted between said strips, close notches IU formed in the side edges of the grid 9, said notches il! being spaced longitudinally of the grid 9, and extending substantially the entire length of said grid.

In one end of the grid 9 I form an inwardly extended slot II opening from said end, and opening at its inner end into branch 'slots I2 that are extended in opposite directions at right angles to the slot II. In the closed inner ends of the branch slots I2, I form enlarged recesses In the end portons of the grid 9, there are formed spaced openings I 4.

A cord I5 is adapted to be plugged into the ordinary electrical outlet, and extends into the slot yI I, as clearly shown in Fig. l. The two sides of the cord I5 diverge at the inner end of the slot II, and are respectively extended through the slots I2, to the enlarged recesses I3. In this connection, I fill the recesses I3 with solder I6,

`with the respective ends of the cord I5 being embedded in said solder.

Also embedded in the solder are the opposite ends of a length of resistance wire I'I, thus providing an electrical connection between the resistance wire and the electric cord I5. Accord- .ingly, when cord I5 is plugged into the ordinary -electrical outlet, not shown, a circuit will be toextend only over the top surface of the grid '3. After having been laced transversely of the z grid, through the entire length of the grid, the

resistance wire I'I is extended through an opening I'I formed in the grid 9, and is extended under the grid back to the other side of cord I5,

` shown as the lower side in Fig. 1.

A topp-late I8 covers the electrical wiring, and can be formed of any material such as linoleum lor the like. The top plate I8 is provided with marginally spaced openings, registering with the openings of the bottom plate, side strips, and the openings I 4 in the ends of the grid. Rivets I9 are then used, extending through all the openings, so as to vpernlan-ently secure the respective .llaniinations of the device tightly together, inra "permanent arrangement. It will be readily observed that a highly durable structure is thus provided, said structure having the characteristic of rigidity, strength, and having no parts that can get out of order readily. In this connection, it will be observed that the cord I5 will -be impossible to withdraw, since it will be so arranged as to have its ends embedded in the solder plugs I6, said plugs being of greater diameter than the breadth of the branch slots I2. Therefore, any pull upon the plug I5 will simply be transmitted to the solder plug, which will be firmly held l against movement. Thus, there will be no tend- .ency to pull the electrical connections apart.

Obviously, the floor mat formed as described can be of any desired ornamental appearance and outer configuration.

Referring now to the form of the invention Yillustrated in Figs. 5 through 8, a bottom plate is provided with marginally spaced openings as in the case of the first form. Mounted upon the sides of the bottom plate 20 are the side strips 2l, and mounted upon one end of the bottom plate are the short end strips 22 spaced apart at the center or the iioor mat so as to provide a space for an electric cord in a manner to be described. The short strips 22 are provided with a plurality of openings spaced longitudinally thereof, and mounted on the other end of the bottom plate is a long end strip 22 also formed with longitudinally spaced openings. Thus, the floor mat has openings spaced marginally throughout its entire periphery, it being understood that the openings of the end strips at opposite ends of the floor mat will register with ,the openings formed in the bottom plate therebelow.

In the space defined between the respective side and end strips, a grid 23 is snugly fitted, and covering the grid is the top plate 24, also formed ywith peripheral marginally spaced openings registering with the openings of the side and end strips and bottom plate. Rivets are used as at 25 for the purpose of securing all portions of the device togethei` in a permanent connection.

The cord 26 extends into the aforementioned space between the shortA end strips 22, the oppoances 2B are arranged in parallel, and thus a uniform heating arrangement is provided even :though the mat illustrated in Fig. `5 is quite long. j; By 4reason of vthis construction, it is possible to provide a matof any desired length or size, with Vthe various resistances being connected in parallel so as to transmit heat uniformly.

As in the case of the rst form of the device, the resistances are laced over the top of the grid, the side edges of the grid having notches as in the previous form for this purpose.

It will be understood that the number of resistances illustrated as being. connected in parallel in the vform of the invention illustrated in Fig. 5, can be varied as desired. Three have been illustrated purely for the sake of example.

It will be further noted that the grid in eitherinstance is coated on both sides with a resinous v insulating cement, before the grid and the side 4 strips are assembled between the top and bottom plates.

Through the selection of resistance wire of proper value, the current ilow will be so regulated that the temperature of the mat can be predetermined in watts per square inch of mat surface so that thermostats, current breakers or fuses will be unnecessary.

Additionally, since the coefficient of expansion of the resistance wire due to temperature rise ls known, the loops of the windings will be so spaced that one loop cannot make electrical contact with another.

It may be further noted that the temperature attained by the windings in the mat will be so low, and will be so distributed uniformly over the entire area of the mat, as to make impossible combustion of materials of which the mat is made.

What is claimed is:

In a floor mat a flat rigid bottom plate formed to an outer configuration and area corresponding to the overall area and o-uter configuration of the oor mat; a pair of side strips of flat, low formation supported upon the opposite longitudinal edges of said bottom plate and dening between them a shallow grid-receiving space; a grid completely filling said space and formed to a height corresponding to the height of said strips and having its top surface flush with the top surfaces of the strips, said grid having spaced notches formed upon its opposite longitudinal edges and said opposite longitudinal edges of the grid being in full contact with the side strips for closing of the notches when the grid is posi'- tioned in said space, the grid having at one end a slot opening inwardly from said end and branch slots extending laterally from the inner end of said slot, the branch slots having closed enlarged inner ends; conductive plugs seated in said enlarged inner ends of the branch slots; a resistance wire embedded at opposite ends in the respective plugs and laced through said notches; electric cords extending through the iirst-named slot and branch slots and embedded in said plugs; a top plate formed to the same area and outer configuration as the bottom plate and completely covering the grid and side strips; and fastening means rigidly connecting the top and bottom plates, side strips, and grid.

CHARLES A. VOGEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date f 395,950 Capek Jan. 8, 1889 1,703,640 Schmidt-Predari Feb. 26, 1929 1,918,533 Geyer July 18, 1933 1,980,734 Sadtler Nov. 13, 1934 2,915,816 Pyzel Oct. 1, 1935 2,066,511 Arlt Jan, 5, 1937 2,162,287 Smith June 13, 1939 2,222,609 Everett Nov. 26, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 21,617 Great Britain Sept. 30, 1896 334,494 Italy Jan. 25, 1936 498,218 France Oct. 10, 1919 

